Officials tackle problems after we shine light to expose them

During the past five years, readers have brought to our attention all sorts of small dangers, inconveniences and nuisances in central Ohio.

During the past five years, readers have brought to our attention all sorts of small dangers, inconveniences and nuisances in central Ohio.

The Dispatch has featured these problems and asked local officials to fix them in The Watch, a weekly Tuesday series.

From leaning utility poles and tall grass to exposed cables and burned-out lights, 50 problems have been highlighted this year by Dispatch reporters. Of those, about two-thirds have been resolved.

Some fixes aren’t easy:

• Responsibility for a worn and damaged sidewalk at W. Beechwold Boulevard and W. Jeffrey Place in Clintonville (Jan. 11) is the property owner’s.

• Obetz officials were threatening the Junkyard Lounge (Jan. 18) with legal action for excessive junk in its parking lot. While the appearance has improved greatly, junk issues have been overshadowed by a rash of other police calls, said Douglas Browell, Obetz city administrator. The city now likely will oppose the renewal of the bar’s liquor license.

• The Long Road bridge, long closed to traffic over Blacklick Creek (Feb. 22), was demolished by the city of Columbus, which is still reviewing the best way to replace it.

• And divots plague both Holt Road (Nov. 22) and the Bethel Road exit off northbound Rt. 315 (Nov. 15). In both cases, Columbus officials said crews can do temporary patchwork, but any repaving will have to wait until at least next year if the city’s capital budget allows.

“When it comes to resurfacing, obviously we tackle the worst of the worst first,” said Steve Cordetti, a city spokesman. “We take into account how many cars travel on the street and what the speed limit is.”

• So were broken benches and blight at Dennison Place Memorial Park in Victorian Village.

• A blind turn for bicyclists along the Olentangy Bikeway (Aug. 23) was quickly fixed, along with others, after hazy panoramic mirrors were replaced or installed by Metro Parks.

• A lawyer’s repeated calls to get help with 20 feet of cable that snaked into the street in front of 34 W. Whittier St. (July 5) were resolved (the same day) only when a Dispatch reporter inquired about it.

• Tall weeds and overgrown grass were trimmed on the North Side at Dresden Street and Shanley Drive, and along Hard Road on the Far North Side (Sept. 13).

• The city also sent out forestry crews in response to complaints about a large pine tree that had wrapped itself around a sign near Downtown that cautioned motorists on north Rt. 23 to keep left (Sept. 27).

About half of all Watches come from Columbus. Five of the 50 were addressed by the Ohio Department of Transportation. The others were found elsewhere.

ODOT began removing a pile of debris at the northwest quadrant of the I-270/Rt. 23 interchange (Nov. 29) after a reader emailed us about the “ugly welcome to a very nice town.” Tons of rubble is still visible, but spokeswoman Nancy Burton said it should all be gone in the next few weeks if weather permits.

In some cases, it comes down to law enforcement, such as the case of messy lawns along Hague Avenue on the Hilltop (Oct. 18). Resident Jerry Kvortek has resorted to putting lava rocks on his yard to keep cars from parking on the narrow street’s curbs and creating puddles of mud.

Rick Tilton, Columbus’ assistant public-service director, said the city can’t raise the curb because it would create flooding problems, and old streetcar tracks under the asphalt mean the street can’t be milled down.

All he could do was remind drivers that it is illegal to park on the curb.

Since then, the problem has gotten worse, Kvortek said, and he’s simply given up.

Tom Ongaro, who alerted The Dispatch to the burned-out bridge lights on the Hilltop, said he was grateful the city finally fixed the problem.

He called Columbus’ 311 help line with no luck before calling the newspaper.

“Getting (The Dispatch’s) attention was the most-powerful thing that happened,” he said. “It’s proof that it does work.”

Cordetti said the staff members who answer the hot line do the best they can to address the problems.

In November alone, the hot line received nearly 17,000 calls and 21,200 requests for city services. During that time, each representative averaged about 1,000 calls.

The Watch column is a helpful reminder to readers about the 311 hot line, Cordetti said. Residents can also submit their requests anytime online at 311.columbus.gov.

Dispatch reporter Robert Vitale contributed to this story.

qtruong@dispatch.com

dnarciso@dispatch.com

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